April showers bring taxes and fresh produce?

Tomorrow morning, the Corvallis Farmers' Market returns to the riverfront. From now until November, you have the option of supporting local farmers and buying produce that travels less than 100 miles from earth to your table. The food tends to be fresher, taste better, and isn't artificially preserved with wax (like apples from Washington state) or laden with pesticides.

We do have a winter market and Wednesday market at the fairgrounds, but it's just not the same as the full-blown market Saturday mornings. There will be music, food demonstrations, activities for the kids (at least on opening day) and samples galore. You'll find more than just fruits and vegetables; there are always plenty of flowers, plants, honey, jams, free-range/hormone-free/cruelty-free meats, calzones from the First Alternative Co-Op booth and my personal addiction -- multigrain sourdough bread from Alpine Bakery.

The best part? It's all pretty inexpensive. When you buy direct from the farmer or vendor, with no middleman, you save money and the farmer keeps more of it.

The market will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. from April 14th through November 17th. For more information, go to the Locally Grown website.